The City of Madison and Community Action Coalition will launch their second season of the MadMarket Double Dollars incentive program this Sunday, August 17, 2014, at the Northside Farmers’ Market on Northport Dr. Customers will receive a dollar-for-dollar match to their EBT withdrawals up to $25 per market day. The distinctive Double Dollar vouchers are in $1 increments and can be spent on any SNAP eligible items, including fresh produce, meats and cheeses, bakery, food-producing plants, and more.

The Eastside Farmers’ Market on Jenifer St. and new Brittingham Park Farmers’ Market on West Washington Ave. will also participate in this program for 2014, both markets kicking off on Tuesday, August 19. The Northside Farmers’ Market will host a press conference this Sunday to celebrate the launch of the program season.

Last year, when Double Dollars piloted with the Northside, Eastside, and South Madison farmers’ markets, customers received a $30 match. The incentives were funded by partners in the healthcare industry including Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin, Meriter Hospital, Dean/St. Mary’s, and UW Health to provide a total of $8000 of incentives. This year, funding partners have expanded to include Cuna Mutual Foundation, Graze Restaurant, and Heartland Credit Union to provide $15,000 in bonus dollars. The bigger pot of funds and slightly smaller incentive bonus should help the Double Dollars go further and avoid the risk of running out of funds before the official end of the program.

A customer who received Double Dollars at the Northside Farmers’ Market last year told me what help this was to her family, that normally they couldn’t afford to buy meat because they only wanted to feed their children meat that was raised without hormones or antibiotics and grazed in a sustainable way. This program gave them that opportunity.

The MadMarket Double Dollars program will run through September 23 at Brittingham Farmers’ Market, October 7 at Eastside Farmers’ Market, and October 19 at Northside Farmers’ Market. Double Dollar vouchers expire at the end of October but can be used at any participating market for the duration of the program.

Help spread the word and visit these Double Dollar markets to take advantage of this amazing opportunity!